Ivanka Wins Over Tech Crowd Amid Boycott Threats and Complaints
Ivanka Trump, President Trump’s adviser and oldest daughter, gave the keynote speech with confidence at a technology conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday despite backlash surrounding her appearance.
According to The Washington Post, hundreds of people tweeted #boycottCES when it was announced that Trump would be speaking at CES.
Twitter users and some industry professionals took issue with Trump’s invitation because the first daughter is not directly involved with the tech industry.
“Ivanka is not a woman in tech,” Brianna Wu, a video game developer and 2020 Democratic U.S. House candidate in Massachusetts, tweeted. “She’s not a CEO. She has no background. It’s a lazy attempt to emulate diversity – but like all emulation it’s not quite the real thing.”
The lack of diversity has long been an ongoing complaint about CES, according to The Associated Press; many women in the industry believed the conference’s organizer, the Consumer Technology Association, did a poor job of trying to include more women.
However, Ivanka Trump was not the only woman and government official to speak. The AP reported that government officials have appeared regularly at CES; Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and Secretary of Energy Dan Bouillette also spoke this year.
Despite the boycott threats and complaints, the crowd at CES was polite, the New York Post reported.
There were no major interruptions, boos or protests.
Trump was interviewed by CTA president Gary Shapiro for just over 30 minutes.
Shapiro welcomed Trump, saying that CES was honored to have her.
“It’s great to be here,” Trump said. “Hi everyone — what a group!”
Her greeting was met with applause.
The audience listened respectfully as Trump talked about the effect of technology on the workforce, highlighting the importance of retraining workers and hiring workers on the basis of skills rather than credentials.
She delivered her speech with confidence and authority, offering statistics to support her claims and finishing her thoughts even when Shapiro wanted to stop her for the sake of time.
Trump was involved in crafting historic legislation that will grant paid parental leave to federal workers, as Forbes noted; when Shapiro mentioned the legislation, the room again broke into applause.
“We cannot ask all of you to offer this benefit to your workforces if we’re not willing to do it ourselves,” Trump said. “We must lead by example.”
Shapiro thanked Trump warmly for her appearance at the event and for the work she has done in the White House.
“On behalf of the industry, we want to work with you, we want to create jobs,” Shapiro said. “I personally believe that no matter who is president in the future, these type of things that you’re putting into place … will and shall continue. They’re very important.”
Many gave Trump a standing ovation when the interview concluded.
Her speech, her poise and her audience were unaffected by the criticism surrounding her presence at CES.
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